…Olateru harps on need to review procedures
Posted by Sade Williams
The Accident Investigation Bureau (AIB), will on April 25, 2019, release another six final accidents’ reports to the public.
This was disclosed by Engr. Akin Olateru, Commissioner, AIB at the Bureau’s 2019 Stakeholders’ Forum held at Radisson Blu Hotel, Lagos on Thursday.
He said those of Delta’s A330 aircraft with contained fire in 2018; the Cessna aircraft accident in 2012 involving Late Taraba State Governor, Dambaba Suntai ; the Diamond aircraft owned by the International Aviation College, Ilorin seven years ago; the Bristow’s Sirkosky aircraft incident in 2016; the Gulfstream 200 aircraft incident in 2018 and the Dana Air incident in Port-Harcourt, would all be released.
According to him, there is no reason why the final report of an accident should not be released under one year, adding that nothing whatsoever should be hidden.
“How will the industry learn when reports are delayed, we have released 21 final reports in the last two years. Our investigations and reports are to ensure safer skies for consumers and not to apportion blames”, he said.
Olateru, who disclosed that on assumption of office in 2017, what he met was ‘individual investigation’ where only an individual would do analysis and know everything about a report without the others having little or no knowledge about the report, said he changed it to group an team investigation where an individual will not be able to go away with al evidence, when retired or fired.
“We need to invest in research and constantly review our process to ensure we are on the right track, we can’t be doing the same thing over and over again and expect different result, we owe it to the world and to 180 million Nigerians that standards are kept.
“The stakeholders are very important, however, I am disappointed that airlines’ CEOs are not present at this programme, they need to change this attitude, they need to know that aviation is highly technical, volatile and regulated, if they don’t get it right 100 percent, they could lose everything”, he added.
Meanwhile, Olateru disclose that AIB had in the last one year, spent $1 million on training and retraining of its personnel, adding that it will in the next four weeks, spend another $200 million or more on same thing.
He said the Bureau has partnered with the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology (NCAT) in Zaria, adding that Cranfield University in the United Kingdom is also assisting the Bureau in terms of training.
From right, Managing Director, Sprinfountain, Mr. Tunde Bakare, General Manager, Public Affairs, AIB, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi, Commissioner/CEO, Accident Investigation Bureau, (AIB), Engr. Akin Olateru, Director of Engineering, (AIB), Engr. Mohammed Wali and General Manager, Public Affairs, AIB, Mr. Tunji Oketunbi during the 2019 Stakeholders Forum held at Radsson Blu Hotel, Ikeja, Lagos.
“We have made a lot of investment in training, we have spent $1 million in the last one year, we have sent out staff to the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) in the United States and Transportation Safety of Board of Singapore for training.
“We brought in investigators from abroad to look at our works so we know where we are, we have upgraded our laboratory and it has been accredited by an international society, it can now download and analyse any data from any crash”, he added.
He also said disclosed that the Bureau would be training about 400 men of the Nigeria Police and Federal Road Safety Corps on how to condone crash site, preservation of materials at crash site and crow control, adding that sometimes, they are first point of call after a crash.
